


Butterfly Muse

by slightlyjillian



Series: Butterfly Muse [1]
Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Alternate Universe, Humor, M/M, Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-03-05
Updated: 2010-03-05
Packaged: 2017-10-07 17:56:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/67691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slightlyjillian/pseuds/slightlyjillian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU. Surviving a money-scheme and borrowed inspiration, Nichol should have expected living with a magician to be <i>somewhat unusual</i>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Butterfly Muse

**Author's Note:**

> Written based on a prompt from Alithea (thanks!).

If Heero Yuy's sunglasses fell any further down his nose they were going to join the liquid soup of whatever concoction he'd spent all morning creating.

Nichol walked past holding his book with one hand and snatched the dangerously drooping lenses with the other. Heero made a _tsking_ noise with his tongue, but continued to delicately measure out what might have been cinnamon. Nichol had seen some of what else went into the mix. He'd have to make sure Heero didn't forgetfully try to drink any of it.

They lived together in an apartment overlooking the Illinois river which sparkled where it wasn't covered over with barges and Asian fish which were growing large enough to attack a man who might try swimming in its waters (if he didn't get struck by a transport boat first).

The complex was environmentally friendly. Special metal, special glass. Plants were fostered into the flooring. Most of the cities had taken steps toward the progressive examples of Mars and Venus. But Heero was a little old fashioned even for all of his environmentally friendly living space, because Heero Yuy was a licensed magician.

"I'm going to need the glasses," Heero said. The textures of the monotone were a type of threat. Not that much frightened Nichol anymore. He'd seen quite a bit of nonsense, things people just _don't believe in_ even when it was staring them in the face and breathing fire like a freshly lit sparkler.

Nichol paced back, still on the same unread page of his book, and let the sunglasses dangle by one tip. Heero dropped the meticulously measured cinnamon, snatched the glasses, put them on his face properly and grinned like a maniac when the whole mess erupted into a flock of butterflies.

The older man nodded as if he saw the value in a few hundred pale pink insect all rushing for the solar windows. Nichol pressed his lips together and said, "I think it's time we give Dorothy her muse back if this is what you're going to use it for."

***

Dorothy lived just underneath them and, unlike Nichol, she thought the butterflies were a marvelous idea. "Next time you could try to add some variety to their color," she commented.

Dorothy wore all black all the time. Which was rather striking when one considered her ridiculously long, blonde hair and pale skin. Nichol had called her to make sure they could return the pewter figurine of an obese teddy bear when she insisted on coming up instead. To see Heero's handiwork her muse had inspired.

"You two should be more careful about loaning these out." Nichol hurried to put the muse in the hands of its proper owner. "It's a little like... well, you know..."

Dorothy patted Nichol's cheek. Her fingernails were black. "Now, now, Nichol. We know that Heero wouldn't dream of sharing you." She paused with her hand still on his face. "Well, he might _dream_ of it. But he certainly wouldn't think of it. During the day. Sensibly, when not drunk..."

"Stop." Nichol grabbed her wrist, but Dorothy only laughed.

She touched a finger to the false bear's nose. "You might be something like a muse though. Perhaps... his sword bearer. Pet. _Right-hand_."

"Why are you making this worse?" Nichol whined.

"To see you blush."

And he was.

***

Someone had thought bringing back alternative forms of transportation could be a tourist trap. That person would have been right. Magic carpet rides, enchanted carriages that turned into pumpkins like clockwork, and a large talking pegasus named Ed were quite fashionable and had to be booked weeks in advance. The cash deposit alone was enough to match a year's income for a high-profile magician.

Heero had been checking the mail first for weeks, which should have struck Nichol as suspicious except it had been going on for so long that his suspicious muscles were tired and tense and had become catatonic from the strain.

Eventually, one day, he came into the main room of their apartment with both of his hands behind his back and a half-smile. Nichol understood grunt, no-smile and maniac grin. Half-smile only happened when Heero wanted to invite his boyfriend to move in or... well that had been the only time. Nichol wasn't looking to make their relationship more complicated with a third wheel so he tried rousing his suspicious muscles for self-defense purposes.

Heero waved a ticket. Then pinched his fingers so Nichol could see there were actually two.

"Okay?" Nichol couldn't read from that far away.

"Mermaid coach tickets for Lake Michigan." Heero leaned forward then back on his feet as if he realized the Earth had stopped rotating and needed assistance.

Nichol narrowed his eyes. The chief emotion he detected inside himself was uncertainty followed by the rational thought which slipped out, "I thought I told you I wanted to visit my friends in Corsica?"

Heero furrowed his brow, "Maybe they'll swim that far."

"Right. _Fresh-water mermaids_..."

"Trowa gave them to me on discount."

"That shark. He put you up to this, didn't he?" Nichol sat forward and hid his face in his hands. Trowa had introduced them after Nichol had explained at length he was not interested in marrying Trowa's sister. The response had been brief and precise, "Then you must marry my best friend."

"Not sharks, _mermaids_," Heero replied, absentmindedly. Magic sizzled around Heero like an extra static charge and strands of dark hair lifted around his head as a result.

Nichol stood then and set his hands to fixing Heero's hair. "Of course, what was I thinking? _Mermaids_."

***

In the end, Nichol decided mermaids were a lot of fun. Heero spent the entire evening quite jealous.


End file.
